Motorola Droid users have a higher adoption rate of Android 2.2 than that of iPhone 3GS users and iOS 4.0, according to a new report.

Mobile app analytics firm Localytics took a look at data from its analytics reports to compare the upgrade rates of two major smartphone upgrades from the summer: Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) on the Motorola Droid and iOS 4.0 on the iPhone 3GS. Android 2.2 for Motorola Droid was released on Aug. 12 and iOS 4.0 was released on June 21.

Based on the data, Localytics concluded that over-the-air upgrades result in a significantly higher upgrade rate. After two weeks, 96 percent of Droid users had upgraded to the new Android OS, while only 56 percent of iPhone 3GS users had upgraded. Even two months after the release of iOS 4.0, just 80 percent of iPhone 3GS users had upgraded.

iPhone users are quicker to upgrade in the first few days, though. Within the first couple days of the iOS 4.0 release, over 30 percent of iPhone 3GS users upgraded. In contrast, it took Android users, who had to wait for OTA Android upgrades to gradually roll out to them, four days to reach a 30 percent upgrade rate.

To Localytics, the lower iPhone 3GS upgrade rate reflects a general shift away from smartphone reliance on PCs/Macs. "Smarter phones and cloud-based services make connecting phones to computers virtually unnecessary," wrote Localytics.

Yeah but OTA updates also have a higher chance of failing. And therefore bricking the phone. They are also reliant on carriers pushing out the upgrades.

iTunes performs checks that the file downloaded is sound then backs up then performs the upgrade. No backups for OTA. Apple also controls the upgrade so it's entirely up to the user to upgrade. Many hold off until the reports of issues roll in to see if the upgrade is worth it. Also others choose not to upgrade in order to keep their jailbroken phones jailbroken until an update is released.

Yeah but OTA updates also have a higher chance of failing. And therefore bricking the phone. They are also reliant on carriers pushing out the upgrades.

iTunes performs checks that the file downloaded is sound then backs up then performs the upgrade. No backups for OTA. Apple also controls the upgrade so it's entirely up to the user to upgrade. Many hold off until the reports of issues roll in to see if the upgrade is worth it. Also others choose not to upgrade in order to keep their jailbroken phones jailbroken until an update is released.

Sorry but these sorts of data releases mean nothing.

I agree that Apples method is done for safety reasons, and it does make a lot of sense, especially since iDevices are designed to be plugged into a PC running iTunes so they can sync.

That said, i think it would benefit the user if these x.x.1 updates that are really just security updates be pushed OTA so users can get them more quickly. Like Security updates for Mac OS X, they would only have to update specific files.

Of course, Apple would have to build in such a mechanism and allow for for fail-safe during the install like on Mac OS X, but I think it could be and should be done as the less and less technically savvy person I know with an iDevice is also one that doesnt listen to music often and therefore doesnt sync their phone unless I remind them to do it.

3. Android users have to wait for a very long time for *announced* software update to 2.2, and many of them simply cannot upgrade to this version, thus increasing the desire for current eligible users to upgrade.

4. Geeky users tend to upgrade at once. There are no doubt more tech geeks in the Android platform than that of iOS.

Maybe it was because Android 2.1 sucked, so users can't wait to get something better?

I believe the survey is of just one Android phone model that was capable of getting v2.2. I think the total percentage of Android phones with v2.2 Froyo is still at around 4.5%, with 35% still using version 1.x, which is pretty sad.

This does bring up a logistical issue with OTA updates for iOS devices. Is it really feasible for Apple to issue worldwide iOS updates for (say) 200,000,000 iOS-based devices come next summer when they move from iOS 4.x to iOS 5.0? Apple has a history of issuing this updates together, and for a full three years, which is a completely different model than the carriers in each country combined with the vendor for each model that have a say and keep their updates few and far between despite the number of new Android activations per day.